Shirt collars are normally comprised of a triple layer of material. In the process of pressing shirts in professional dry cleaning or laundering operations, shirts are removed from a washer extractor after a final spin or extraction. Because the collar contains more layers of material than the rest of the shirt, when the damp shirt is pressed, the collar typically requires additional drying or curing. Therefore, the last stage in professionally finishing a shirt is to button the top button and slide the shirt over a collar forming device to facilitate the drying of the collar.
The prior art includes tapered-cone type collar forming devices that may accommodate a range of collar sizes. Two known tapered-cone type collar forming devices in the prior art cones made by Bishop Freeman and Forenta. The Bishop Freeman cone is a cast aluminum tapered cone having a slot through the top of the cone that extends downward into the cone. The slot allows a shirt hanger to sit upright on the base of the slot with the hanger's hook extension portion protruding beyond the top of the cone so that a user may grasp the hanger to remove the finished shirt. Because the hanger extension portion extends beyond the top of the cone, the tapered cone is relatively short, and it is therefore limited in the range of collar sizes that it may accommodate.
The Forenta cones are similar to the Bishop cones. Forenta model 5C3L illustrates a triple cone unit having longer tapered cones, but not having slots for holding hangers. Forenta model 5CFL illustrates a similar, slotless, single cone unit. In both of these models, a light bulb is used as a heat source within the cone to accelerate the drying of the collar. Forenta models 2SCH and 2SCF contain shorter cones, like the Bishop Freeman cones.
The present invention combines a longer cone with unique slot and cavity to allow access to a hanger resting within the cone, but not extending above the top of the cone. In addition it provides a hanger storage area within the cone. The combination of a longer tapered cone effective for a broad range of collar sizes with a hanger storage system adds to the efficient operation of a dry cleaning or laundering service. By eliminating steps such as the individual loading of hangers, a combination system improves efficiency of the collar forming process.
None of the prior art cones teach a convenient method to store hangers within a cone and to facilitate the collar forming of wide range of shirt collar sizes through the use of a longer cone. There is, therefore, a need for a shirt collar former that supports the storage and use of hangers without limiting the height of the cone or the depth of a cone slot to the height of a hanger.